1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fiber adapter, and more particularly, to a one-piece LC type optical fiber adapter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fiber optics has revolutionized communication through out the world. With the increased used of fiber optics it has become increasingly important to be able to connect and disconnect fiber optic cables from various sources. Two fiber optic cables can be optically coupled so that they are in communication with each other by using connectors and an adapter, thereby putting each fiber optic cable in communication with the other. The connectors are placed on the end of each cable and then plugged into the adapter. The adapter has two openings each one designed to receive a connector.
The conventional LC type adapter consists of two halves, each halve being identical. Each half consists generally of a rectangular cylinder having a flange at one end. Inside each half would be placed half of an inner housing. The inner housing is generally a round cylinder with a flange at one end. Each adapter half has a ridge located just inside from its flange so that the inner housing could be placed in the adapter through the opening proximate to the flange on the adapter half. Once the inner housing is inserted into each adapter half, the two halves are connected by ultrasonically welding the two flanges of the adapter halves together.
However, the above design presents serious problems. The cables are naturally flexed in use when the adapter remains fixed. The related stress of this situation can cause the two halves of the adapter to separate from each other after time. In the prior art, this problem can be solved by constructing the adapter halves from metal which gives the adapter enough strength to withstand these stresses. However, this too presented a problem as metal is much more expensive to purchase and mold than the plastic one.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a LC type optical fiber adapter to solve the aforesaid problems.